Rosebell's Bloghttp://rosebellkagumire.com
"You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore."-Cesar Chavez Fri, 27 Mar 2015 12:07:05 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/http://0.gravatar.com/blavatar/a4f0e326bd5f1731809d31d3629fd777?s=96&d=http%3A%2F%2Fs2.wp.com%2Fi%2Fbuttonw-com.pngRosebell's Bloghttp://rosebellkagumire.com
Investment in local enterprise crucial to tackling poor sanitationhttp://rosebellkagumire.com/2014/02/20/investment-in-local-enterprise-crucial-to-tackling-poor-sanitation/
http://rosebellkagumire.com/2014/02/20/investment-in-local-enterprise-crucial-to-tackling-poor-sanitation/#commentsThu, 20 Feb 2014 11:29:32 +0000http://rosebellkagumire.com/?p=2243]]>Over the last two days I have been startled by Uganda sanitation statistics and how the country loses a lot of money and time to treatment of diseases, which are preventable. One person suggested that may be it is a matter of people in finance not being able to make the link that prevention costs us way less than treatment dedicated to 75% of disease burden from poor sanitation.

With about a thousand days to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) deadline, some 780 million people will still not have access to improved water supply and many countries including Uganda are going to miss the targets for sanitation. About 2.5 billion people worldwide still do not have access to improved sanitation. About 1 billion people still defecate in the open and Uganda contributes 3.2 million to this figure.

Girl fetching water in Kampala photo by Andy Kristian

Governments haven’t paid enough attention to the impact of poor sanitation on lives but our national economies or if they do, just they haven’t set it as a priority area in improving human development indicators. Many NGOs in the past have largely concentrated on hand out, which have failed to bring sustainable solutions to poor sanitation.

You shouldn’t be shocked to meet volunteer from a western country working in rural Uganda to dig latrines for people. The latrines they build aren’t like high-tech toilets that no Ugandan knows about, they are just a bit improved latrines that with little support, local people could build for themselves.

The failure of such handouts to deliver sanitation solutions has highlighted at this unclogging blockages conference in Kampala. One participant told us how NGOs had built latrines for people in Kampala slums but majority were using these latrines to keep their animals.

It true that where people are not reached by public sanitation services, they will turn to self-supply, alternative sources and open defecation. Looking at sanitation as business worth investing will give more responsibility to the communities and makes a lasting solution.

Michael Momanyi, from the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) by the World Bank, whose mission is to increase access of the poor to water and sanitation, did present myths that have to be challenged to bring market-driven solutions in the sanitation sector.

“Millions of people rely on hundreds of thousands of firms – mostly small and micro firms – for their sanitation and water needs, under this business area what we are trying to learn is whether societal problems can be addressed by business. We are particularly interested in the domestic private sector.”

It is important in developing countries like Uganda to support local entrepreneurs whether it is in water supply business or improving hygiene.

WSP surveyed over 100 enterprises that serve households directly and challenges the misconception that the reason the sanitation is small.

“The paradox is that sanitation is a large market dominated by small players who are constrained by capital, technology and in geographical reach. Even when money is not an issue, sanitation is a low expenditure priority.”

The survey for instance found that many non-poor rural households in Tanzania did not have access to improved sanitation facilities even if they could afford them.

“The study finds that the most basic improved sanitation facility would comprise only 3-4% of the annual incomes of the poor. We find that the poor spend much more than that in the annual use of their mobile phones than it would to own a sanitation facility that would last them 10 years.”

An interesting case study from Nkhotakota Sanitation Village Savings and Loan Banks in Malawi brought a new aspect on financing sanitation.
Roy Khonyongwa from the Hygiene Village Project, a local Non-Governmental organization in Malawi, told the meeting how they are incorporating sanitation as part of the micro-finance.

This local Malawian NGO helped set up village savings and loan banks to link sanitation entrepreneurs and households to access loans for sanitation facilities.

“The purpose of Village banks is to enable communities learn to save the little they have and be able to meet household needs including money for constructing or improving a latrine. Members are obliged to get sanitation loans from the contributions and the loan is paid back at the end of the week or month at an agreed affordable interest.” Said Khonyongwa.

Water.org is also using micro finance to support sanitation efforts under their water credit program. WaterCredit puts micro finance tools to work in the water, sanitation and hygiene by connecting financial institutions to communities in need of clean water and toilets. The small loans are made to individuals and households and the program is also being implemented in Uganda.

The role of micro finance institutions in developing communities in countries like Uganda where capital is not easily available has been tremendous. Just like families look at getting loans for education and running businesses, micro financing is one way to address sanitation needs. But this can only work well if communities are made aware of the impact of poor sanitation on the households in the long run.

]]>http://rosebellkagumire.com/2014/02/20/investment-in-local-enterprise-crucial-to-tackling-poor-sanitation/feed/0rosebellGirl fetching water in Kampala photo by Andy KristianUganda: Shit is not just a poor man’s problemhttp://rosebellkagumire.com/2014/02/19/uganda-shit-is-not-just-a-poor-mans-problem/
http://rosebellkagumire.com/2014/02/19/uganda-shit-is-not-just-a-poor-mans-problem/#commentsWed, 19 Feb 2014 09:25:41 +0000http://rosebellkagumire.com/?p=2234]]>A while back, a friend returned from a funeral of one the big men from his village. The man had served as a minister in one of past regimes and had generally lived a good life. My friend’s story from the big man’s funeral wasn’t about the pomp, which many often try to put up even at funerals in our rich world. It was about one shocking aspect of the man’s life. This big man had lived in Kampala and kept his village home like most Ugandans do but to the surprise of my friend this big man’s village home where he was buried had had no toilet/latrine facilities. The only standing structure had been quickly erected at the news of his passing.

I was reminded of this story at a sanitation meeting that is taking place in Kampala, which brought participants from 21 countries.
When I first saw the theme “unclogging the blockages” I wondered if we had even anything blocked in the first place. Contrary to held myths that open-air defecation is done by poor people, this story of the big man shows that shit matters in Uganda are everyone’s problem.

A Wateraid photo from a slum near Makerere University.

Sanitation and especially disposal of human waste many times is not a priority even when people have money.

In a country where 75% of the disease burden are preventable and sanitation related, we cannot simply relegate this problem to just a poor person’s problem. And because it is shaped as something distant in some slums and villages, like many problems of these areas, sanitation is the last on our government’s priority list. Our government annually spends Ushs 30 billion on treatment of sanitation related diseases but does little to provide the sanitation support- a preventive measure that would save our tax money.

In the last quarter each district was given only Ushs 5.5 million for sanitation. The environmental health division at the ministry of health tasked with promotion of sanitation at household level countrywide only receives Ush 200m but it will fork out 30 billon by end of the year to mitigate effects of poor sanitation.
With corruption that has eaten away most of the systems and in a world where politics rule we can hardly implement even by-laws to ensure Ugandans meet sanitation standards that are well written in our policies.

Julian Kyomuhangi, an assistant commissioner in the Ministry of Health told this gathering that the politics had crippled enforcement of by-laws that aim to tackle open-air defecation.
“We started enforcement to get Ugandans to build latrines and we were able to increase latrine coverage by 5% in a short time but we didn’t go far because some people came and said we were disturbing their voters.”
Incredible! These so called ‘some people’ are the leaders who stifle most of development by affirming ridiculous rights to their voters including the right to defecate wherever one feels like!

Thanks partly to such politics, about 3.2 million Ugandans have no latrine at all and still defecate in the open. Sewerage Coverage in Kampala is between the 5 to 7% of population about 2 million people. An Engineer from GIZ Fredrick Tumusiime told the meeting we don’t expect sewerage sanitation to increase even by 25% in Kampala in next 20yrs.

Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Minister of Health told the meeting Uganda is lagging behind in achieving sanitation and water MDGs and it is about time we began talking about sanitation and its value and impact on the economy.

Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Minister of Health

According to the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), 13.8 million Ugandans use unsanitary or shared latrines. In primary schools the latrine to pupil ratio is 1:70, meaning at one break time, about 70 kids line up to use one toilet!

Natural disasters like floods and landslides have increased sanitation challenges.

Mr. Martin Eyura, Soroti District Environmental Health Officer told the meeting that 3/4 of the district experiences floods during rainy seasons. Floods usually take the poorly constructed latrines which increases diseases.

And the other damning statistic, only 29% of Ugandans wash hands with soap after toilet. Many I spoke to believe even this figure is on the high side because people are not always fully truthful about such an issue.

This meeting has brought together people working in sanitation sector to look at furthering sanitation as a business. Clearly, the government alone cannot provide the much-needed services but at the same time businesses cannot be a solution if the government isn’t giving much attention to the issue. In the next post I will divulge into various solutions presented here.

]]>http://rosebellkagumire.com/2014/02/19/uganda-shit-is-not-just-a-poor-mans-problem/feed/0rosebellA Wateraid photo from a slum near Makerere University.Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Minister of HealthIs Uganda deployment in South Sudan more than just a citizen evacuation mission?http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/12/21/is-uganda-deployment-in-south-sudan-more-than-just-a-citizen-evacuation-mission/
http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/12/21/is-uganda-deployment-in-south-sudan-more-than-just-a-citizen-evacuation-mission/#commentsSat, 21 Dec 2013 10:52:58 +0000http://rosebellkagumire.com/?p=2230]]>It started on Sunday, December 15. I woke up on Monday to the news of a ‘failed coup’ in South Sudan that now many believe never was. Next day, President Salva Kiir wore his military fatigue as if to reinforce that idea that this will be solved militarily- in a country where he has yet to bridge the political and ethnic divides. The fight that started as squabbles between members of the SPLM exposed divisions – both political and ethnic- in the worst way possible.

A week later, UN agencies put the number of dead at 500 and most of them civilians. Many graphic stories are going around about how people were hunted down in their homes and hacked and killed in some of the cruelest ways imagined, just because they belonged to a different tribe.

For many months there was consistent talk of a possible coup with Kiir dismissing an entire cabinet. This was a man in a paranoia mode. From then on nothing has been the same. Many people I know in South Sudan believe Kiir is been putting a lid on the party, the government and the army and not allowing dissenting voices or a resemblance of democracy internally. What appeared a political rift at the top of the party this this week degenerated to fight for power along ethnic lines.

Kiir is reading from the same script that many post-independence African countries leaders used. Coming from Uganda have seen enough and always civilians will bear the brunt of the rigidity of these leaders.

As most countries started evacuation citizens, in Uganda were half hooked to South Sudan, the other half on our parliament, which has been busy making sexist laws that include banning mini-skirts and the infamous Anti-homosexuality law. Somewhere in the middle of this confusion, President Museveni sneaked us into the South Sudan turmoil, reports say at the invitation of Kiir’s government. Like many military deployments, only a few people in this country decide where and when our soldiers will be taken.

Museveni is well known for his historic support of the SPLM/A struggle – in fact top SPLM figures lived freely in Uganda as the independence struggle went on.
But this time it is not a struggle for independence; it is a struggle for good governance. And whatever interests we may be trying to protect, in the end we must give South Sudan- two year old country- its chance to shape it’s destiny.

I am a skeptic when it comes to lone interventions by any country but many reports show that Museveni may not be acting alone entering the South Sudan conflict.

“Our mission is to evacuate injured and stranded Ugandans. It is a bilateral arrangement with the government of South Sudan”, Paddy Ankunda, spokesman of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) told Sudan Tribune on Friday.

Later there were reports Uganda has secured Juba airport. Today reports say Ugandan troops have been sighted in Bor- Jonglei. One tweet – unconfirmed- suggested a Ugandan military plane had been brought down.

The vagueness regarding the mission has increased rumours that UPDF is there support Kiir. And if indeed Museveni takes us to Juba and beyond to save Salva Kiir- who has had chances to negotiate with rivals but chose not- I am afraid may affect what kind of settlement will be reached.

Gen. Wamala sort of wrapped this mission around humanitarian grounds – that peace in South Sudan means peace in Uganda -but we have a UN mission in South Sudan whose mandate should must be to protect civilians.

The IGAD delegation led by Ethiopia ,of which Uganda is part, are already in talks with Kiir and Dr. Reik Machar to come to the negotiations. And I wonder how this deployment – if it is has gone beyond citizen evacuation, will be viewed by the other parties – rebels. Meanwhile reports of the violence and the devastation are still coming in.

People seeking refugee in UN bases are being surrounded by militia and some peacekeepers have also been killed. The last thing South Sudan needs is more military action from a neighboring country.

A good friend from South Sudan wrote to me:

“It is such a shame as innocent (Ugandan) soldiers will die fighting for a cause they don’t even know…what is happening now in south Sudan is a fight between dictatorship and democracy…we know who will win in the end.”

]]>http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/12/21/is-uganda-deployment-in-south-sudan-more-than-just-a-citizen-evacuation-mission/feed/3rosebellhttp://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/12/20/2222/
http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/12/20/2222/#commentsFri, 20 Dec 2013 12:01:31 +0000http://rosebellkagumire.com/?p=2222]]>It is been tough months, the kind of tough I wouldn’t easily put down on paper! I am sure the last two weeks you read and re-read articles about life and the passing of former South African president and anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela. I quietly read a lot too.

I wrote this small piece for Radio Netherlands Worldwide about what I thought of his life and legacy. I hope you still find it interesting.

I was barely 11 years old when Mandela was released from 27 years of inhuman incarceration. At home we didn’t have a TV and I bet that my day – that great day in history – went on like any other day of an 11 year old in rural Uganda.

Many years later, I would read of President Mandela saying: “The curious beauty about African music is that it uplifts even as it tells a sad story.” It reminded me of my childhood and how music introduced many of us to the apartheid and the evils in South Africa. The songs of Miriam Makeba and Lucky Dube would be danced to in my village, but they also sparked passionate discussions.

That said, death is inevitable and, in the end, the difference is only how much a person has been of service to others. And Mandela made this point with his life – both as a prisoner of the apartheid regime and as the first black president of South Africa. Many of his contemporaries never survived the chains

As we grieved and reflected on such a life that graces our world once in a generation, I met a group of great Norwegians. If you watched last year’s christmas video Africa for Norway , these are the young people behind it.

Last week I was honored to take part in a debate they organised in Oslo to further highlight the state of the aid industry and it’s consistent emphasis on stereotypes. A few weeks before I had watched this video.

I must admit it is as hilarious as provocative. This is the latest production of The Norwegian Students’ and Academics’ International Assistance Fund (SAIH)

To further the conversation, SAIH held awards via social media nominations on what was the worst and best aid campaign this year. You can watch the nominated videos for both the Rusty radiator and Golden radiator awards. SAIH explained the need for the awards.

Stereotypical imagery is hurting both the cause and the people being portrayed. It’s taking away people’s dignity and agency, while creating apathy instead of action amongst people in the rest of the world.

Most of the videos in the worst category had an element of silencing the person they intended to help and the insatiable urge to shock and cajole the viewer to donate.

During the discussion on aid campaigns and what is missing with the SAIH, NORAD, UNICEF Norway and Plan Norway representatives[/caption]

This Child Fund video was voted the worst aid campaign by the jury.

The best aid campaign featured 500 Ugandan women by Microbanker.
Where women are given loans not handouts to start businesses or acquire skills.

You can watch and make your own pick but i thought it was creative way to bring attention to alternatives to traditional aid.

]]>http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/12/20/2222/feed/0rosebellDuring the discussion on aid campaigns and what is missing with the SAIH, NORAD, UNICEF Norway and Plan Norway representativesBeauty remains amidst struggle; Lives of Congolese refugees in Ugandahttp://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/10/28/beauty-remains-amidst-struggle-lives-of-congolese-refugees-in-uganda/
http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/10/28/beauty-remains-amidst-struggle-lives-of-congolese-refugees-in-uganda/#commentsMon, 28 Oct 2013 10:30:10 +0000http://rosebellkagumire.com/?p=2208]]>For two weeks in October, I worked with a research team from Isis-WICCE to document Congolese women refugees experiences of war. The research is supposed to inform various political efforts to end the conflicts in Eastern DRC.
We travelled to Bubukwanga, a refugee transit camp in Bundibugyo district at the border with DRC. At the time of the visit, the centre was still receiving about 250 refugee arrivals per week.

Most of these refugees fled back in July when rebels reported to be ADF-NALU took over Kamango, a town about 10 KM from the Ugandan border.It is Beni district, North KivU Province. Some reports in Uganda media questioned if ADF was really behind the attacks.

Unlike other attacks in North Kivu, many reported the rebels attack on Kamango was more of a tactic to force displacement. One woman told me “they came to my house and said i should go to a refugee camp in Uganda because they needed this place as their playing field.

There was no report of sexual violence, the attack took many by surprise, although there had been some abductions and killings in the area for sometime.

Many reported that rebels had carried out killings especially of people who had either refused to leave or tried to go back after the day of the attack. The chief of the area was killed in the first hours of the attack, a tactic to instill fear in the population to force them out.

In Kyangwali refugee settlement where more than 5000 had been relocated, beginning a new life in a new place is tough. I spent more time at Kyangwali and got many images but would like to share these. For many elderly people, this was their 3rd time to be displaced into Uganda. In fact some of them narrated their stories in Rutoro/Runyakira.

A Congolese man carrying their daughter was walking with his wife on the way from the garden. I asked for a photo and this is what i got. This is a very rare sight in Uganda where generally gender roles can be well defined. Many men hardly carry their children.

A young Congolese refugge girl carries an empty pan. Food for children is difficult to get for newly arrived refugees. Mostly they get maize flour and posho. Mostly children meals are given to very young ones.

I took this photo on the international Day of Girl Child. Access to education is a challenge. Most classrooms are over crowded and not enough teachers.

One of the young women I met at the villages in the refugee settlement. She wanted to work on my hair to be this cool. We didn’t get time.

Many teenage mothers struggle in the new setting. It was difficult to find a 14 year old who wasn’t married.

Some women at meeting we had in Kyangwali

More than 50,000 refugees are estimated to have entered Uganda since July from Kamango areas.

]]>http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/10/28/beauty-remains-amidst-struggle-lives-of-congolese-refugees-in-uganda/feed/3rosebellA Congolese man carrying their daughter was walking with his wife on the way from the garden. I asked for a photo and this is what i got. This is a very rare sight in Uganda where generally gender roles can be well defined. Many men hardly carry their children. 2013-10-10 10.41.30A young Congolese refugge girl carries an empty pan. Food for children is difficult to get for newly arrived refugees. Mostly they get maize flour and posho. Mostly children meals are given to very young ones.I took this photo on the international Day of Girl Child. Access to education is a challenge. Most classrooms are over crowded and not enough teachers.One of the young women I met at the villages in the refugee settlement. She wanted to work on my hair to be this cool. We didn't get time.Many teenage mothers struggle in the new setting. It was difficult to find a 14 year old who wasn't married.Some women at meeting we had in KyangwaliRape and the culture of victim blaming in Ugandahttp://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/10/16/rape-and-the-culture-of-victim-blaming-in-uganda/
http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/10/16/rape-and-the-culture-of-victim-blaming-in-uganda/#commentsWed, 16 Oct 2013 12:58:26 +0000http://rosebellkagumire.com/?p=2201]]>This blog post is part of the Blog Action Day and this year’s theme is human rights.

At the end of September, a Youth Minister in Uganda Kibuule went on record to say a woman who is indecently dressed and is raped should face charges and the perpetrator should be set free. Journalists recorded his voice at a function in the western district of Ntungamo and the next day newspapers carried the story.

Kibuule ran to radio stations claiming he was misquoted, he even opened a twitter account to dig into the debate where I and many Ugandans had contributed condemning this rape apologist.

More than 20 girls are raped everyday in Uganda but the silence continues. Most of these rapes are committed by close friends and relatives. But for people like Kibuule, the obsession with women’s bodies blind them from the reality.

They blame clothes not perpetrators. Like many other instances in Uganda, a minister like Kibuule can abuse women and spread hate speech and incite violence and get away with it.

Not much time has passed and we are hearing a harrowing account of 23 year old girl who was gang-raped by Pakistani men.

There’s a public outcry and like in many other sexual violence cases it has emerged the file initially at Kira road police was mismanaged. This girl is living in fear because those who gang-raped have threatened to hurt her more or even kill her. But this is not new, many rape cases are never prosecuted to the end.

It was only last year the Police Form 3 was amended for law enforcement agencies to record medical practitioner’s evidence in cases of sexual violence including rape and defilement.

Before then only Police surgeons could use this form and be acceptable before the courts of law. You would find long lines at the surgeon’s office and there was no privacy. I visited two surgeons while doing a story back in 2008 and it was clear to any one who entered which cases the victims were there to report. A man with her daughter in tears would easily tell you how she’s been raped and many women seated in silence as they waiting for this one man to examine them.

More than the justice system we have a culture of silence and victim blaming. If a woman or girl is raped we have first find out if she didn’t ‘deserve’ it. We need a society that can support rape victims to be able to speak out with out rape apologists like Kibuule threatening them. If we have ministers who are on the side of rapists and actually advocating for rapist’s rights to rape we are far from the morality that we all like to go preaching about.

Like Norbert Mao said, we need to go beyond public outcries whenever cases like these come out.

First, parliament should pass the Sexual Offences Bill. This law should have provisions that protects rape victims from traumatic court sessions, creates a well facilitated sexual assault police unit, creates sexual assault response centres in our health centres to deal with the risk of HIV infection and provide post exposure prophylaxis, and which emphasises protection of child victims of rape. Second, there should be a public education campaign targeting men to sensitize them about the difference between consensual sex and rape. That’s the only way men will understand that women have a right to say no to sex. Is is also the only way we can build a society that can groom men who respect women. Third, we need more men especially those in government and parliament to take a courageous stand to end sexual violence.

Kibuule had some backing and it was heart wrenching to see young men posting on twitter in support of him. They seemed ignorant of the fact that what is decent to them can be indecent to another.
That we have laws and that under no circumstance can one excuse rape.

Those horrified by the Pakistanis who gang-raped this young woman who was only out to look for better employment, must know the link between statements like Kibuule’s and the perpetuation of rape and the silence that follows this crime.
Without structures to cater for such victims even in the face of persistent threats we can’t hide from the fact that our leaders would rather obsess about women’s bodies than put measures to ensure women are protected. If they weren’t obsessed we would see more laws that enhance women’s equality and protection passed. We wouldnt spent time speaking about the length of a skirt when more horror is delivered to our door steps every day!

]]>http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/10/16/rape-and-the-culture-of-victim-blaming-in-uganda/feed/3rosebellKibuule-Ronald-ResignA peace dialogue in Karamojahttp://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/10/03/a-peace-dialogue-in-karamoja/
http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/10/03/a-peace-dialogue-in-karamoja/#commentsThu, 03 Oct 2013 19:11:22 +0000http://rosebellkagumire.com/?p=2184]]>Last week, shortly after the International Peace Day I went to Moroto with Karamoja Cluster Project, My graduate school University for Peace is starting.
At an intra-community dialogue, held under a tree, between Tepeth elders on resolving the cross-border conflict between the Tepeth in Uganda (in alliance with the Pokot) and the Turkana in Kenya, i took these photos in Kalemungole village, Tapac subcounty.

Peace in Karamoja is fragile. After decades of armed violence through cattle rustling, Uganda government enforced disarmament. But Kenya instead decided to arm their warriors. This dialogue showed a change in the communities and their embrace for protection from armed forces instead of arming themselves.

One of the most important issues raised at a dialogue where the LCV was present was where is the 3% the communities is supposed to get from Marble mining? Karamoja also has gold and other issues arising are land rumored being grab. Most Karamojongs lost cattle and struggle but not much is known about gold mining and trade from Karamoja. Not that I intend to scare but there’s a mega road construction project by Chinese and rumours were rife that the Chinese are trying to get a stake in Gold. Am ignorant of the gold mining venture in this part of the country just like most Ugandans but i thought these issues regarding extractive industries need to be given attention and coverage to put such rumours to death.

I captured these images as the dialogue went on.

Elderly woman at the dialogue

Soldiers listen in during the dialogue

Found this kid with mum, in earlier photo he showed great interest in the camera, i bet he will be a journo some day

Never seen such big guns with Police but this really shows the fragility of peace in Karamoja.

]]>http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/10/03/a-peace-dialogue-in-karamoja/feed/4rosebellElderly woman at the dialogueIMG_0153IMG_0597IMG_0633Soldiers listen in during the dialogueIMG_0063IMG_0087IMG_0259IMG_0188Found this kid with mum, in earlier photo he showed great interest in the camera, i bet he will be a journo some dayNever seen such big guns with Police but this really shows the fragility of peace in Karamoja. We are NOT ONE.http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/10/02/we-are-not-one/
http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/10/02/we-are-not-one/#commentsWed, 02 Oct 2013 10:06:31 +0000http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/10/02/we-are-not-one/Gregg Mwendwa:I refuse to suck up to this fake sense of Kenyan patriotism. I grew up reading books on Kenyan history and singing to the tunes of patriotic songs that were constantly propagated by the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. I went to school in a single party state when there was no…]]>

One of the most thoughtful commentaries that I have read after Westgate mall attack in Kenya.
Like the great 18th Century English Writer Samuel Johnson said “It is unpleasing to represent our affairs to our own disadvantage; yet it is necessary to shew the evils which we desire to be removed.” And that sometimes “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”

I grew up reading books on Kenyan history and singing to the tunes of patriotic songs that were constantly propagated by the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. I went to school in a single party state when there was no difference between government and political parties. I was taught history that was cooked by the curriculum developers to deliberately make me become patriotic to the country Kenya.

At school, I was taught to sing the national anthem as well as recite the national pledge, which at the time, was coined to end up with pledging loyalty and allegiance to the president of Kenya. I was taught that Kenyatta was the Kenyan Jesus. I was taught how to sing for the president, and bow my head in respect.

I woke to this headline and I am yet to understand why Uganda Police heads thought Ugandans will buy into this Bull****. You neglect the country for months to surround Besigye and opposition and make sure they don’t set foot where the powers that be don’t want the, crime increases and now you come to tell us don’t worry we will kill all these thieves!!

You have turned the police into an army. You are supporting mob justice and you think it is worth it announcing your planned killings! This is lazy ass policing where you make killing civilians a priority!

My question is how many high end robbers in this country have been killed? If you want to shoot and kill on spot robbers why did we ‘waste’ time prosecuting Kazinda and others?
And what happened to those who cleared our national reserves to fund the 2011 election? I thought it is only fair to shoot and kill on sight if we are to take you seriously! But forget about that moment of madness, Gen. Kayihura should tell us when he assume the powers of the judges and the executioners?

Kayihura and Police want to make Ugandans feel safe but they don’t want to do their work! They want shortcuts and whoever dies along the way will be either a robber or collateral damage worth it for the peace of the country!

Only in a mad house do police announce the plan to shoot and kill suspects because police has never had powers to label anyone a robber! If we are still reading from the same law books that is still the work of the judiciary.

With shoot to kill who knows when you will be turned into a ‘robber’ by whoever wants you out of their way! Such thoughtless statements and operations cannot make Ugandans safe!

]]>http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/09/03/uganda-police-to-embark-on-shoot-and-kill-spree/feed/5rosebell1150656_10151876840554078_1216707655_oLet’s go barter: Museveni govt cited in African migrants for Arms deal with Israelhttp://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/08/30/lets-go-barter-museveni-govt-cited-in-african-migrants-for-arms-deal-with-israel/
http://rosebellkagumire.com/2013/08/30/lets-go-barter-museveni-govt-cited-in-african-migrants-for-arms-deal-with-israel/#commentsFri, 30 Aug 2013 10:51:49 +0000http://rosebellkagumire.com/?p=2161]]>For some time, secrecy had surrounded a racist deal made by an openly racist Israeli government towards African immigrants and some leaders of African countries.
When I first saw this report I thought, what an all-new low we are hitting in assisting trade in humans and promoting racism! I hoped that my president still had some moral bit left especially on an issue that concerned discrimination and dehumanization of Africans. But i was wrong!

A gag order on a secret agreement between governments of Israel and Uganda to deport African immigrants to Uganda was lifted.
Most immigrants in Israel are from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan.

This deal between President Museveni, and Israel will see Uganda take in tens of thousands of African migrants or in some cases serve as a transit station.
Israeli Interior Minister said that they had obtained consent from Museveni government which a foreign ministry official was quick to refute . I say it is Museveni because there’s almost no respect for other aspects of government by Museveni.

Gideon Sa’ar doesn’t even conceal his racist language!

“In the first stage we will focus on raising awareness within the population of infiltrators while helping them with the logistics of their departure including their airfare and dealing with possession they accumulated.”

He calls African population – infiltrator population.

This is President Museveni’s deal of shame! Back home no one knows yet–probably only Museveni and his close friends do- where these thousands of African migrants will be resettled or what warehouse he will keep them in while in transit.

The support of forceful removal of Africans from Israel is deplorable and I am deeply gutted that for his support for racism and violation of international laws- Museveni gets arms as a reward!

I am left to ask, Museveni where is your humanity? What’s the difference between Museveni and slave traders? Why would you be willing to inflict so much pain on a people who have already suffered enough?

Eritreans are fleeing Eritrea in mass numbers from Isaias Afewerki’s insane regime that has turned a country into a prison; the Sudanese are yet to find a life without Bashir. Museveni runs a country where each citizen has a one-dollar health budget for a whole year but his love for ammunition and power outweighs all this human suffering.

Only Museveni’s desire will be fulfilled if this deal goes ahead. And that desire is to arm himself into his life presidency!

But why stop at Israel? Museveni government could expand its bundle of desires. He could for instance have an ‘Africans for Pasta’ or ‘Cars for African migrants’ deals with the Italians since the country is at the height of lunacy and all out racism against African migrants. Italy is that place where an African football player gets treatment for an injury and a mayor of a city says he is the reason his heathcare system is going down!

I don’t know what the Maltese government can offer but for sure Museveni can find something he lacks in his huge state house, knowing he could be in that house for the next 10 years. Don’t forget Spain!

Museveni might also want to assist the UK where the border Agency targets Black people throughout the country each day.
He could ask them to change the phone numbers of the UK Home Office racist vans asks if you are illegal in UK. We could, in exchange for something, put Uganda Police number 999 and announce a good package for those “stranded Africans” to come live in Uganda.

We could also launch a campaign similar to the ‘Gifted by Nature’, remember that? That CNN campaign that our first son in-law launched to make us look good on the international scene. The Campaign, which Ugandan taxpayers ‘happily- as they always do’ coughed Shs640 million for.

We could reap big from these racist governments by actively being involved in the racism business with them! With just lines like “Be illegal no more, Uganda is calling.”

This trade in African migrants stands to be very lucrative. We could put it as a priority ahead of other economic activities like oil drilling and agriculture.

It doesn’t matter if the migrants are from Senegal, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Eritrea or Ethiopia, we can save them all and at the same get ‘Kintu kidogo’ (supposed to be sounded in Ugandan Swahili)!

Then we will be able to pay our poor teachers and also save university lecturers from becoming goat herders. We could raise the one-dollar healthcare budget per year to five. All these monies we can cater for national budget that is giving us trouble after aid was cut because of ‘alleged’ corruption.

We are well-known good hosts for refugees- except for a few that are a pain in the neck of one great East African leader. Those ones we freely leave to be tortured but on the whole we are good hosts. Ask the Rwandans, Congolese, Kenyans and recently President Kikwete ‘sent’ us Kinyarwanda speaking Tanzanians.

By end of 2012 Uganda hosted to over 200,000 refugees from these countries and with renewed fighting in Congo, the number has increased.

President Museveni – Guardian Photo

Our president will be remembered along side Patrice Lumumba, Nelson Mandela and other great African leaders that, for many decades after independence, we have failed to give the continent.

Promise not to treat these migrants like the Jamaicans- 3rd generation are still treated as foreigners in Ethiopia. For us we will accept these migrants as citizens because really anyone can easily possess a Ugandan passport – the Jamaicans still have a long away to get Ethiopian citizenship with the country’s rigid citizenship laws still intact. The difference is they came to Ethiopia not by force but at the invitation of Emperor Haile Selassie. Our president could get close to such historic figures!

Promise the immigrants great stuff because we are good at promises- check Museveni’s 2006 unfulfilled election promises. Once they are here, they are on their own. This is Uganda! It is a free country! Government wont bother you so don’t bother it!

After all our Mzee needs all the international pats on the back as he plans to go nowhere after 2016. For get the East African countries’ arms race recently reported, we will have enough enemies within to use these arms against.

Don’t even speak to parliament about this! The Big Man has already threatened to topple it anyway. Of what use is it to ask 370+ people on such matters of international importance?
Like renowned Ugandan journalist Charles Onyango Obbo tweeted this is pragmatism at work!

@RosebellK That M7 for you. They say he has made pragmatism a philosophy.